Name:

How Romantic is Your Poem?

Now that you understand the general characteristics and subjects of the Romantic Period as well as the literary devices common to
the period, your task is to apply these broad ideas by evaluating the degree to which a specific poem represents the period. For this
task, you may choose one Romantic poem by one of the following poets:

 William Blake
 William Wordsworth
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (please do not select Rime of the Ancient Mariner as you will study this poem in a later module)
 George Gordon, Lord Byron (this is the same person, George Gordon is his name and Lord Byron is his title)
 Percy Bysshe Shelley
 John Keats

Select a poem by one of the listed authors. Most of these authors are mentioned in the videos you watched in the notes section; if
you do not remember the names, viewing these videos again will help you select the poet who most interests you. Do a Google
search to find one of the poems, and list the name of the poem below. Once you select your poem, you will analyze how well it
represents the subjects and devices common to the Romantic Movement. Keep in mind that not all Romantic poems will display all
Romantic characteristics.

Name of selected Poem:

Poet’s Name:

Characteristic of Romantic Subjects Textual Evidence (what does it say?) Explanation/Analysis (what does this mean
and why is it important?)

Viewed nature as valuable and having the ability

to transform people (think about
transcendentalists Emerson and Thoreau);
sought after child’s ability to view natural world
with wonder and innocence

Celebrated imagination rather than reason,

simplicity rather than sophistication, innocence
rather than experience

Focused on personal emotions and experiences

rather than more public topics

Romanticized the past and also dreams as an

escape from harsh realities of modern (to them)
world

Prized freedom of the individual

Common poetic devices:

anthropomorphism
imagery
irony
symbolism